The Recognition of Modernity in the 1950's Literary Criticism
Jun, Seung-ju
The times of 1950's is circumscribed by the colonial liberation (1945), war(1950~53), and revolution(1960) in Korea. It was a very specific era, but its condition as the modern in universal was also determinate. In postcolonial Korea of 1950's, the problem of modernity was nothing but the problem of underdeveloped and distorted realities. In the struggle to go beyond the unsatisfactory realities, literary critics adopted different strategies ; (1) the emphasis of ‘the contemporary’ and the underestimation of ‘the modern’ (2) the assertion of universal contemporariness by the reception of western philosophies (3) the proposition of humanitarianism which aims to the recovery of humanity (4) the attention to Korean tradition for the reconstruction of self identity.
Through all these strategies, 1950's literary criticism tried to overcome the violent evils of modernity, to protect the value of humanity, and to adopt the precedent practices of western philosophies. Their discontent stemed from Korean modern history, nevertheless their solution oriented to so called western universality. They defaulted the thoughtful reflection on Korean reality. The controversy centered on tradition theory was the only exception, which doubted the universal modernity and reestablished the nation identity. While the literary mainstream was akin to western existentialism, the attention to tradition awakened the need of Korean identity. It gave the exit from the obsession of being underdeveloped and pioneered the road to new literature.

The Recognition of Modernity in the 1950's Literary Criticism
Jun, Seung-ju
The times of 1950's is circumscribed by the colonial liberation (1945), war(1950~53), and revolution(1960) in Korea. It was a very specific era, but its condition as the modern in universal was also determinate. In postcolonial Korea of 1950's, the problem of modernity was nothing but the problem of underdeveloped and distorted realities. In the struggle to go beyond the unsatisfactory realities, literary critics adopted different strategies ; (1) the emphasis of ‘the contemporary’ and the underestimation of ‘the modern’ (2) the assertion of universal contemporariness by the reception of western philosophies (3) the proposition of humanitarianism which aims to the recovery of humanity (4) the attention to Korean tradition for the reconstruction of self identity.
Through all these strategies, 1950's literary criticism tried to overcome the violent evils of modernity, to protect the value of humanity, and to adopt the precedent practices of western philosophies. Their discontent stemed from Korean modern history, nevertheless their solution oriented to so called western universality. They defaulted the thoughtful reflection on Korean reality. The controversy centered on tradition theory was the only exception, which doubted the universal modernity and reestablished the nation identity. While the literary mainstream was akin to western existentialism, the attention to tradition awakened the need of Korean identity. It gave the exit from the obsession of being underdeveloped and pioneered the road to new literature.